Food Day Event

Grocery Store For-A-Day!

In association with National Food Day, the Lower Ninth Ward Food Access Coalition is hosting a Grocery Store For-A-Day event in the Lower 9th Ward. The event will feature a “pop-up” grocery store, providing a unique opportunity for people to “make groceries” in the Lower 9th Ward, which currently has no grocery store and is considered a “food desert.” The event expects to draw 500 people from all over the city of New Orleans to support the Coalition's efforts to get better food access in the neighborhood. The all-day event will also include a kids' breakfast (starting at 8am), educational workshops, food vendors, health screenings, and entertainment. Harvey Reed of the LA Association of Cooperatives and Lori Burge of NOLA Food Coop will co-present a workshop on “What's A Food Coop?” Grow Dat Youth Farm teens will give cooking demonstrations and the New Orleans Public Library will set up a “children's corner” with books and fun activities. Other contributors include Second Harvest, New Orleans Food and Farm Network, Sav-A-Lot, A Community Voice, Tulane Medical Center, American Cancer Society, and more.

With this event, the Coalition aims to draw attention to the Lower 9th Ward's “food desert” status and the Coalition's community efforts, while encouraging more people in the community to join, and to raise funds for the Coalition's first project. By bringing people together for the grocery store experience, food, fun and dialogue, we will be able to spotlight the need in this segment of New Orleans - a city known as a food capital in this country, yet many residents do not have access to fresh, affordable food.

FACTS: According to the USDA, people in urban communities of 500 or more should have a grocery store at least a mile away. Otherwise, they are considered "food deserts." The closest full service grocery store that serves the Lower 9 is about 3.5 miles away in St. Bernard Parish. More than 30 percent of Lower 9 residents do not have access to transportation to get to that grocery store.

The Coalition is a project of the Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development.Visit www.sustainthenine.org for more information on this initiative and other CSED projects!

The Lower Ninth Ward Food Access Coalition envisions a neighborhood where availability of fresh, quality food is convenient and affordable for everyone in the Lower Ninth Ward. Our mission is to invest in the health of the community by supporting the development of sustainable food systems in the Lower Ninth Ward that are directed by and for its residents. The Lower Ninth Ward Food Access Coalition is made up of Lower 9th Ward residents and community leaders committed to addressing the food access issues of the Lower 9th Ward, which is considered a “food desert” by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development focuses on coastal rehabilitation, greening the built environment and increasing food security by lifting up and strategically reinforcing community driven goals throughout our work of creating an economically, culturally and environmentally sustainable Lower Ninth Ward.